On the FA’s 'Silent Support Weekend' Watford Ladies FC teams let their football do the talking in their cup competitions. The Under 16 Warriors continued their fine run of form with a 1-nil away win against Colchester’s Stanway Pegasus in the JPL Cup. Despite two disallowed goals in the first half, the Warriors kept faith and continued to press. Following a flowing move with some impressive individual skills, Chloe O’Donoghue gave the goalkeeper no chance as she fired in from distance.
Stanway showed great steel and kept pushing for the equaliser, rattling the post late in the game to give the Watford side a scare. But the visitors hung on for a well-deserved victory and go into next week’s County Cup semi-final derby against Watford FC full of confidence.
The U14 Warriors recorded a convincing 9-1 victory at home to Juventus Academy in their JPL Cup competition. The first half saw them carving out a succession of good chances, scoring twice. Juventus managed to pull a goal back but the second half was all Watford, with incisive passing and clinical finishing. Connie Page scored a hat-trick and Tierney O’Gorman bagged a brace. Emma Skipsey, Erin Arkin, Laila Greaves and Enya Brewster also got on the scoresheet.
Meanwhile the U18 Hornets took on St. Albans in a League Cup double header. Watford were 2-1 winners in the first match thanks to two edge-of-the-box finishes from Eva Baana, assisted by India Dowse and Jess Stevens, either side of the St. Albans goal.
The second game started with an early Baana finish from another Dowse assist but St. Albans came back strongly and established a 2-1 lead. Baana levelled the scores from the penalty spot and followed it up with a sublime dribble and finish in the dying minutes of the game for a dramatic 3-2 victory.
And the U14 Harts enjoyed cup success with a home win against Garston Tigers in the Junior Shield. Two long-range shots from Simran Bains and two composed finishes from Saffron Patel, assisted by Eva-Red Kelly & Alexandra Patros, led to a 4-0 win and a place in the semi-finals.